ROB BLAKE JERSEY RETIREMENT: Frozen Royalty begins a series of stories covering the Los Angeles Kings retiring Rob Blake’s jersey number 4 on January 17. Exclusive interviews with one current and two former Kings players will help us handle the first task…dealing with the big elephant in the room.

Former Los Angeles Kings superstar defenseman Rob Blake, now the team’s Vice President/Assistant General Manager, will have his jersey number 4 retired by the team on January 17, 2015.Photo courtesy Los Angeles Kings

LOS ANGELES AND EL SEGUNDO, CA — As we get closer to January 17, the day when the Los Angeles Kings will retire former superstar defenseman Rob Blake’s jersey number 4, there is that big elephant in the room that should be dispensed with, one way or the other.

To be sure, there are Kings faithful who resent Blake for the way he left the organization after the 2007-08 season. Some also hold a grudge against him regarding his departure at the trade deadline during the 2000-01 season.

EL SEGUNDO, CA — The Los Angeles Kings have finished their 2014-15 pre-season schedule, they have closed up shop on training camp, and after all the ice chips settled, there will be no surprises whatsoever on their 2014-15 opening night roster, which will be released later today.

In fact, the only real “question,” if you can call it that, was whether or not two young players, left wing/center Andy Andreoff and defenseman Brayden McNabb, would make the big club’s roster out of training camp.

But as previously reported in this space, both were a lock to make the Kings’ opening night roster, making the “question” pretty much a moot point.

EL SEGUNDO, CA — For many, many years, the Los Angeles Kings were grossly deficient in the areas of drafting and developing young players. Of course, they were so bad at drafting players that their dreadful player development usually didn’t matter.

But all that has changed since President/General Manager Dean Lombardi joined the club in April 2006. He quickly made drafting and development one of the top priorities of the franchise. That focus has paid off in spades, and now, the Kings are now one of the top teams in the National Hockey League when it comes to drafting and developing their young prospects.

Evidence of that can be seen on the 2013-14 roster, which includes the likes of Drew Doughty, Trevor Lewis, Alec Martinez, Tanner Pearson, Tyler Toffoli and Slava Voynov, among others, all of whom are homegrown players—some are late-round draft picks— who are now filling significant roles, and it doesn’t stop there.

LA KINGS PROSPECT WATCH: Throughout the summer, Frozen Royalty has taken a look at several of the Los Angeles Kings’ young prospects. In the final installment of this series, the focus is on 2011 third round selection left wing/center Andy Andreoff. Audio interviews with Andreoff and Kings assistant general manager Rob Blake are also included.

LOS ANGELES — For 23-year old left wing/center prospect Andy Andreoff, if the Los Angeles Kings have their way, his time is now, or at least, in a few weeks.

“His contract situation has a lot to do with that, in that he would [have to clear] waivers—there would be 29 teams lined up to get ahold of him,” said Kings assistant general manager Rob Blake. “It’s a big summer for him. He was sat down, early in the summer. We explained the scenario that this is the time to push to really get on this team.”

LA KINGS PROSPECT WATCH: Throughout the summer, Frozen Royalty will be taking a look at several of the Los Angeles Kings’ young prospects. In this installment, the focus is on defenseman Brayden McNabb, who was acquired last March at the trade deadline. Audio interviews with McNabb and Kings assistant general manager Rob Blake are also included.

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Kings had barely begun their summer-long celebration after winning the 2014 Stanley Cup Championship when it was learned that veteran defenseman Willie Mitchell would not be re-signed because the Kings would not be able to fit him in under the salary cap.

While Mitchell was moving across the country to Florida, the Kings signed veteran defenseman Matt Greene to a four-year contract extension on June 24, 2014. They also signed Jeff Schultz to a two-year deal on June 30—their top six defenseman positions would appear to be set.

But wait…there’s more.

Down on the farm, a little over 3,000 miles away, defenseman prospect Brayden McNabb was playing for the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League after the Kings acquired him on March 5, 2014, along with a second round pick, in the 2014 and 2015 National Hockey League Drafts, from the Buffalo Sabres, in exchange for left wing/defenseman Nicolas Deslauriers and right wing prospect Hudson Fasching.

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